


Rescuing Each other

by mental_Music1359



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Feelings, Help, Hospitalization, Humanstuck, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Saving One Another, Self-Harm, Support
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-25 12:56:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6195976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mental_Music1359/pseuds/mental_Music1359
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sollux Captor was feeling overwhelmed one day and ended up cutting himself. He ends up in the mental health unit in the hospital where he meets Eridan Ampora. At first he can't stand Eridan but ends up helping the other and slowly falls for him. He wants to help Eridan the best he can which mean learning to help himself and save himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Getting into the Hospital

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a triggering subject but some of this is off of an experience that I had. I got the idea to write this story and I wanted to share it so I figured why not. The first chapter I think is going to be the most triggering but I'll make a warning whenever things get a little too triggering. I hope that if you read this you like it.

The young boy couldn't take it any longer, he couldn't take having to watch his big brother, the yelling, hitting, the responsibilities, school bullies, school, everything. It was too much, too overwhelming. He was done.

The overwhelmed boy paced the length of his room finding tear streaming down his face. Was he really going to do this? Yes. Yes he was. He pushes up the forearms of his shirt and looks down at the bare, pale, untouched skin. They were going to look different after.He quietly goes over to the door and unlocks it, heading for the bathroom. 

‘Down the hall and to the right. Simple directions to end so much pain’ the boy thought as he reached the bathroom.

He glanced into his big brothers room, it was a mess and his brother was playing a video game from the floor. He looks over at the other and waves. The boy looks away and grabs the razor blade he needed before going back into his room locking the door.

As he hears his brother yell to his dad that he was upset and being mean. He can practically hear the sigh from his dad and can anticipate the footsteps on the stairs. He needed to do this fast. 

He sits on the bed and bring the razor to one side of his arm, biting his lip, before dragging it to the other side quickly. Blood immediately begins to pool at the site. He moves the blade down and does it again, this time pressing deeper.

By the time his dad is telling him to open the door he was moving on to the other arm. He starts to feel numb and better. He couldn't focus on his dad banging on the door, only on the blood coming out of his arm and starting to stain the bed sheets and on continuing to cut.

On his third one on his right arm his dad finally bursts through the door. He looks pissed for a moment before it turns to fear when he sees the razor and the blood. He goes over and tries to take the razor which the boy tries to stop. It leaves another cut on him and a cut on his dad. That was when he let go. 

His dad starts to yell at him out of fear, running to get a towel and returning. A few seconds later his dad is wrapping both of the struggling boys arms as the boy starts to cry hard.

His dad ends up wrapping his arms around the boy and calls an ambulance. The boy weakly leans into his dad with his eyes shut. He was tired.

The ambulance soon gets there and rushes him to the hospital where they try and repair the deep cuts, wrapping his arms after. Leaving him alone in a bed to rest for a while while the doctor goes to talk to his dad.

After a long nap two women come in. She smiles at the boy and sits down in the chair. He didn't know who she was, he couldn't help but look around the room and realize there was nothing in here really, not even a clock. He frowns and looks at the women.

One of them speak up, “Can you tell us your name and birthdate?”

The boy watches them for a second before saying anything. “My names Sollux Captor, June 2, 1996.” He had a terrible lisp. 

“Very good. My name is Dr. Caroline Smith, I'm the Doctor who assessed you when you got here, how're you feeling?”

‘Shitty.’ Sollux thinks before saying, “Fine.”

Fine. Everything was fine. Fine, he was feeling fine. Fine was relative. He was fine compared to some. Ugh, he couldn't imagine what he was going to say to his dad or anyone about what happened.

Dr. Smith checks Sollux out before the other woman introduced herself. “I'm the social worker here, my names Laura Hamilton.” 

Sollux rubs his face tired of everything as Dr. Smith asks, “Can you tell us what happened?”

Sollux sighs and decides not to beat around the bush but to lie a little. “I was overwhelmed and I self harmed.”

“Why did you do that?” Laura asks.

“I just told you. I was overwhelmed.” Sollux looks at her. 

“Why were you feeling overwhelmed?” Dr. Smith asks.

“Life.” Sollux answers simply. 

They talk for a little longer and do some paperwork before both women leave. After a few minutes the door opens up and Sollux’s dad walks through followed by his brother. They sit in the two chairs in the room, Sollux's dad moving his closer to the bed and taking Sollux’s hand.

After a minute his dad, Simon, says “I love you Sollux. I don't know why you did what you did but I'm sorry.” 

Sollux nods a little, worried if he opened his mouth he would start to cry. After a few seconds Simon says again, “The Vantases are here too. I called them here for support.” With that he starts crying.

Sollux couldn't believe he had tried to kill himself, why would he try that? His family was here with him which meant they cared about him, the Vantases too. He could imagine what he was going to tell his best friend Karkat. This wasn't going to be good. 

Simon stands and hugs Sollux close which is returned. The three talk for a while and Sollux tells them he did it because he was overwhelmed. He was tired by the end of being with Simon and Mituna. He wanted to take another nap but decided not too. The two leave and is replaced by Karkat. 

Karkat and him start to talk, Karkat ends up crying which upsets Sollux and he starts to comfort his crying friend. He holds him and promises they would go out to the movies or something when Sollux gets out. The two best friends talk for a long time about anything and everything.

Eventually Simon comes back into the room with a sad expression. He sits down in the chair and Karkat takes his cue to leave the room. Sollux looks at Simon as Simon tells him that the doctors want to put him in the mental health unit.

Sollux couldn't help but panic. He wasn't crazy. He didn't need to be there. Simon explains that he agrees it would help the boy and eventually talks Sollux into it.

The next thing Sollux knows is that he is being transported upstairs and realized that sometime during his stay that it had switched from evening to night time. He is examined once up there and given a room with a blond boy who was fast asleep. Sollux tosses and turns until the sleeping pills they gave him kick in and he falls asleep.


	2. Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sollux meets his roommate and ends up yelling at the other, and feels guilty the rest of the day and keeps the other company. He realizes that he wasn't the only one who cuts. Sollux still doesn't want to tell the nurses and everything about what is going on in his life because it might reveal too much to why he hurt himself, he feels too ashamed to say why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was quick to another chapter and I'm not sure they will all be this quick. I hope the people are enjoying the story, next chapter I'm thinking of revealing a bit more into Eridan's past.

Sollux wakes up the next day groggy and with a slight headache. He wasn’t used to taking sleeping pills, he hasn’t taken any sleeping medication in his life. There was a lot of firsts this week for Sollux. First time doing self-harm, first time in the hospital’s mental health unit, and first time with sleeping pills. What’s next?

Sollux sighs and rubs his forehead, it was going to be a long day. He slowly sits up and looks around the room to evaluate the room. A window with a protective screen over it, a bathroom with no shower or mirror just a reflective piece of tin, two beds, two shelves, two nightstands, a whiteboard, and a roommate. He notices that the shelves both were empty which meant his roommate had nothing with him. He looks over at his roommate who was sitting up with a yawn. 

The boy had blond hair with a purple stripe for his bangs, his hair curled slightly. His blue eyes glance around the room nervously before landing on Sollux. The boy bites his lip as he does he looks Sollux over.

Sollux gets out of the small bed and goes over to the window. He looks out and sees the snow on the ground, he gauged that he was about on the third floor if not fourth. He could just barely see the parking lot of the hospital so that could mean he was looking out the side, or back, of the hospital. He felt a little more grounded after figuring out where he was in the building. He turns back around to look around the room again.

The roommate was watching Sollux, he hugs his knees to his chest as he says, “Hey.” Sollux automatically hated the voice, so annoying.

“Hi.” Sollux says before going into the bathroom.

After he comes out the boy asks, “How long have you been here?” Sollux notices the stuttering over the ‘w’ and ‘v,’ it almost reminded himself of his lisp.

“Just got in last night. You?” Sollux didn’t honestly care, he just wanted to talk to someone about getting out. It was a mistake to come into here, Sollux could feel it.

“Yesterday afternoon. I’m Eridan by the way.” Eridan finally gets out of bed and offers Sollux his hand to shake.

Now that Sollux could see the boy better he could see he was wearing a purple sweater, jeans, and socks. Eridan was about as tall as Sollux and was thin. It was obvious that he wasn’t the only one not eating as much as he should. Eridan was also wearing thick black hipster glasses. Sollux couldn’t help but wonder if he actually needed it.

Sollux observes the hand for a second before taking it, “Sollux.”

“Do you always talk with a lisp? Can you control that any?” Eridan asks.

“Do you always talk with a stutter?” Sollux retorted, crossing his arms over his chest before leaving the room without an answer.

Sollux walks down the hall, glancing at all of the rooms, some were occupied with sleeping forms and some beds were empty. He hears talking and a T.V. on in one of the rooms, he turns left instead of right and ends up in a kitchen, or what looked barely like one. It had a water machine on the counter, cups and napkins and stuff as well, a long table and chairs, a fridge, piano, two white boards, and a bookcase filled with games. He finally spots a clock and adjusts his glasses as he reads the clock: 7:42.

Sollux sighs and turns around and almost runs into his roommate. “What the fuck, really?”

“What?” Eridan asks defensively, stepping back.

“Get out of my way and stop following me.” Sollux snaps and moves past Eridan.

He leaves the room just in time to spot a nurse coming out of the nurses station. The nurse was pushing a portable blood pressure reader and looks at Sollux and Eridan, who was standing in the kitchen looking upset.

“Is everything okay?” The nurse asks.

“I need to talk to someone. Now. I want to leave.” Sollux demands.

“Everythin’ is fine.” Eridan mumbles before going into the other room.

The nurse watches and says calmly, “You can discuss your release today with someone, you’ll be having a meeting with someone today.”

Sollux sighs and goes into the other room which was filled with comfortable chairs that faced the T.V.. There was a couple of people in the room who looked at Sollux when he entered before looking back at the T.V., he goes and sits across from Eridan who was curled in a chair. The nurse comes in and starts taking everyone’s blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. They talk about the day before, patients talking to patients and the nurse.

A nurse comes in a looks around before eyes stopping on Eridan, “Eridan?”

 

“Yes?” Eridan looks at her.

“Can you come with me?” The nurse asks with a smile. He stands with a nod and follows her out of the room.

After about ten minutes Eridan comes back, rubbing his eye slightly. He sits as the nurse comes in and looks at Sollux. “Sollux, can you come with me?”

He stands and follows the nurse into an exam room. He takes a seat in the chair, sitting back in the chair as the other follows him in and sits down. He looks the nurse over before glancing around the exam room. He was in this room last night, or at least he was pretty sure, for his intake.

“Can you tell me why you are here?” The nurse asks gently.

“Can’t you just look at the notes in my chart?” Sollux snaps.

“Please don’t snap at me. I would like to hear it from you.”

“I was feeling overwhelmed and hurt myself.” Sollux crosses his arms over his chest.

“What were you feeling overwhelmed by?” She asks.

Sollux decides it’s better to tell part of the truth than just blatantly lie to the woman. He sighs softly and says, “I was overwhelmed because of school, life, responsibilities, just everything.” 

She nods and asks, of course, “What’s going on at school?”

He swallows and watches her, “Homework and classes are hard to concentrate.”

She nods, “What responsibilities are hard for you?”

“All of them.” Sollux watches the woman, thinking of his responsibilities of watching his brother when his dad wasn’t there.

“And your life? Is that mostly your responsibilities?” She asks making Sollux nod. She nods back and writes down some things before looking at him, “So after you eat breakfast you can get your medication which will help you feel better. I heard you snapped at another boy this morning.”

Sollux sighs and rubs his forehead, “He was fucking following me. I can’t fucking stand that shit.”

“Please try to refrain from swearing. I know you haven’t taken your medication in a few days so I’m sure you’ll feel better after you take them.” She says kindly and standing.

He stands as well and leaves the room. He notices breakfast is here and grabs his tray and finding a place to eat at the table, Eridan sitting next to him. Ugh, Sollux couldn’t stand having Eridan follow him around, or what he thought of was following. He didn’t like the boy. 

After breakfast Sollux takes his medication and then goes to a couple of group therapies. One on anger management, sleep hygiene, and anxiety. He found the anger management one interesting and the others boring. He had lunch and watched T.V. until it was visiting time when his dad and brother showed up. Eridan, Sollux, and one other person were the only people who had visitors so they took over the large kitchen.

Sollux glances at Eridan’s visitor which was a male, older than them both but not his dad. He was wearing a leather coat, white shirt, tight jeans, and combat boots. His black hair was slicked back and his blue eyes filled with worry. 

Simon asks how Sollux was doing in the unit to which he replied how he wanted to go home. They talk and Sollux plays a game with Mituna until it is time for them to go which made Sollux sad. He hadn’t realized how much he missed his family. He hugged them both and noticed Eridan doing the same with his visitor but the difference was Eridan looked to be crying.

After they all leave Sollux paces the halls before hearing sniffling behind him. He stops and looks at the blond boy and sighs. “You’re annoying.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Eridan turns away and starts to walk off. 

Sollux turns and walks next to him. “Why are you following me?”

“I just want to make friends. I’m lonely and depressed and everyone else is older than me.. You seem to be close to my age..” 

Sollux sighs feeling guilty and after a second he asks. “Who visited you?”

The two begin to pace, “My brother, Cronus. He said my dad couldn’t come to see me. Not this time. Was that your dad and brother or friend or something?”

Sollux nods, “Brother and yeah. They could come this time.”

“What happened to your arms?” Eridan asks looking at the bandaged arms.

Sollux rubs his arms self consciously, “Uh, I hurt myself..” 

“Cutting?” Eridan asks gently to which Sollux nods. Eridan pulls up his sweater sleeve to reveal neat cuts on the skin, “You’re not the only one.”

Sollux nods a little. The blond boy pushes his sweater sleeve down again and they walk in a comfortable silence. They talk and go into the kitchen and play a game until dinner then watch a movie after dinner and go to bed. They talk quietly until they both fall asleep.


	3. Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's such a short chapter!

The days already felt like they were blending together. Sollux couldn’t wait until he got out of this stupid place. He wanted to go home and get back to his life, he was missing school and missing his friends, who would visit him every once and awhile. The visits still make him sad and even want to get out more.

Sollux paced a lot with Eridan and got to know him more. He didn’t completely realize how close the two had gotten within the last two days. He plays games with Eridan to mostly pass the day and even took naps.

The two were playing a card game now, Eridan had taught it to Sollux who only knew how to play go fish and war. The two were waiting for last visits, both realized quickly not a lot of people had visitors. 

Eridan lays down a card, “Do you think you’ll be getting out soon?”

Sollux chuckles and looks at his cards, “God I hope so. What about you, they tell you yet?”

Eridan shrugs, “Within the week. Or at least that’s what they are saying.”

Sollux nods a bit jealous, he wanted to go home, Eridan didn’t seem to want to, “That’s good.”

“Maybe when we’re both out we could hang out sometime. I mean, we don’t live too far away from each other.” Eridan says hopefully.

Sollux thinks about it. Was it really a good idea to actually become friends with someone who is in the mental hospital? It can’t be any worse than not really having that many good friends that understood him right now. None of his friends understood why he would do what he would do. None of them knew how bad things were for him, but Eridan understood.

Sollux nods, “Yeah, that sounds good.” 

Eridan smiles a little and looks over when he heard the big door to the other side of the hospital open. Sollux looks over to see the same male came to visit Eridan again. He came in and sat beside Eridan and Eridan turns to him with a smile. Sollux watches a few other people trickle in, not one Sollux recognized but he noticed a man sit next to him, he assumes Eridan’s dad.

“Sollux, this is Cronus, my brother, and my dad.” Eridan says with a smile.

“Nice to meet you both, I’ll give you some time.” Sollux stands and leaves the room and starts to pace, might as well pace a mile.

After the visiting time is up Eridan joins Sollux in pacing. The two talk about the visit, Eridan telling Sollux that his brother finally got his old car running and his dad had one a case, turns out his dad was a lawyer. That was different from his own family, Mituna couldn’t even figure out how to fix a simple issue and his dad was the head IT guy at a huge company.

After dinner they have dinner and watch a movie with the others. It was around midnight when the two went to bed. They again talked until one fell asleep and the other followed. But early in the morning Eridan has a terrible nightmare and wakes Sollux up. The two again fall asleep for the rest of the time talking.


	4. Day 6

The days became a full on routine. Get up, watch TV, eat breakfast, pace, see the doctor, groups, play games, lunch, groups, visit with family, play more games, talk, pace, eat dinner, watch a movie, and go to bed and talk to Eridan until Sollux fell asleep. There wasn’t much of a variety in the days. But not today, today was different than normally. Eridan was quieter than usual, something was off with him and it started after Eridan and Sollux saw the doctor.

When the two were playing cards finally Eridan sighs and says, “I’m going home today.” 

Sollux looks up surprised. “Really?” He couldn’t help but frown at the other, he was going to be alone in here.

Eridan nods a little and says softly, “Doctor said I could go home. I can give you my number if you want.”

Sollux nods numbly. How had he gotten so close to Eridan? He had just met the boy but felt a connection. The two got along now. But a better question is why is Eridan going home before Sollux? Wasn’t he doing better? He thought he was. Sollux starts to think that he deserves to go home more than Eridan but he chases that thought off. Eridan should go home, he looks like he was doing better.

When Sollux refocused on the other he noticed Eridan was looking at him expectantly. “What?”

“I just asked if we could hang out when you get out, whenever that is.” Eridan looks down at his cards before putting one down.

Sollux nods, “Yeah, sure.” He picks up a card before setting one down.

Eridan picks up a card and looks over his own, “I really wanna hang out with you Sol, outside of this place.” 

Sollux nods and says gently, “I said we could hang out. I can’t believe you are going home.”

Eridan nods, “Me too, I’m happy to go home though. It’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed, shower in my own shower, relax without having someone constantly watching me.” Eridan looks up as the nurse passes by, checking on them.

Sollux chuckles and sets his cards down. “You really think your dad and brother won’t be watching you like a hawk when you get out of here?” 

Eridan frowns and looks across the table at the boy. “Yeah, they said they trusted me.” 

Sollux shakes his head, “So? They’re still not going to trust you right off. I mean, you tried to kill yourself.”

Eridan puts his cards down and stands, “I had a plan. I didn’t try to kill myself, you did.” He turns and leaves the room.

Sollux sighs and rubs his forehead. He picks up the cards and puts them away. He goes into the TV room and sits. He doesn’t focus on what everyone is watching but he sits there until he sees Eridan’s family walk into the hall. He frowns knowing that they were there to bring his friend away. He looks at the TV before getting up and going to the kitchen and looks at the clock, about half an hour until visiting time. Sollux’s dad was coming to see him.

During visiting time Eridan sits down beside Sollux, “I’m going home now.” 

Sollux looks from Simon to Eridan, “You are?” 

Eridan nods, “Yeah, I’ll see you around though.” He holds out a piece of paper with his number on it.

Sollux takes it, “Yeah. See you around.”

Eridan looks over at his family before hugging Sollux and getting up. He leaves the room and soon the Mental Health Unit. Eridan’s free, Sollux not so much.

Sollux looks back at his dad who was smiling sadly, “So your friend went home?”

Sollux nods, “Yeah, his lucky day was today.”

“Your ‘lucky day’ will be soon. You’re doing better.” Simon says gently and with a soft smile. “I’m proud you’re doing better.”

“Then why am I not going home?” Sollux frowns.

“Because you’re just not ready yet. It’ll be soon, I promise.”

Sollux shakes his head and changes the topic, talking about Simon’s work. The two talk about his work, school and Mituna until it’s time for him to leave. He hated this place.

Sollux goes through his normal routine feeling more lonely since he didn’t have Eridan to talk with anymore. At bedtime it was even more lonely. He had no one to talk with until one of them fell asleep, instead he tossed and turned all night and barely slept.


	5. Day 8

Sollux had gotten a new roommate the night after Eridan left but he didn’t talk to this roommate, he didn’t really talk to anyone really. He had become lonely without having his companion around. Without Eridan there his daily routine changed, he paced more and slept a lot more, and even slept more, he would watch TV for hours.

On the eighth day of Sollux in the hospital the doctors called Sollux into the office and they talked for a while before asking how he felt. Of course Sollux was tired of this question but he answered with a fine. He was truly feeling better, less overwhelmed. He didn’t have to worry about school because he didn’t really care and he didn’t have to deal with his brother which was good.

“Sollux, we think today is the day you go home.” The doctor says with a soft smile.

Sollux couldn’t help but look at the doctor in complete shock, “Seriously?”

The doctor lets out a soft chuckle, “Yes, we think you are doing better, as we talked about earlier we upped your medication so it should help you out more. Just remember some of the things you learned here and we also want you to go into the outpatient program for a week or two longer. Then you will also be put into therapy.”

Sollux groans, therapy never helped him in the past, “Can I skip out on the therapy? It doesn’t help me, I tried it years ago and it did nothing. It’s terrible.”

The doctor considers this before nodding a bit, “Alright, you are still being put into the outpatient but you don’t have to do the therapy, I’ll call them and let cancel your intake with them. I know therapy doesn’t work with everyone. Outpatient for you is going to be starting in two days. You will have one day to get comfortable in your home again and the next you’ll be starting.” The doctor writes a note on the paper before shutting the folder. “I’ll start your discharge paperwork so you can get out of here as soon as you can.”

With that Sollux leaves the room with a smile, he was actually going home! He couldn’t wait. The first thing he does is go to his room and pack up the clothes his dad brought him before going to check if the phone was busy. It was, of course it was. That’s the only way it works. Sollux goes into the kitchen and waits for the phone, when it becomes available he quickly grabs the phone and sits down in the chair next to it. He dials Simon’s number and listens to the rings. One. Two. Three. Fou- Simon answers.

“Sollux? How are you doing?” Simon’s worried and annoyed voice comes through the phone.

“I’m great, I’m coming home. They said I can come home soon, maybe before lunch.” Sollux says wondering how long the paperwork would actually take.

“That’s fantastic!” Simon says very pleased. “Just let me know before you start the paperwork so that we can come get you.” He said implying that Mituna would be coming too.

“Alright, I’ll let you know.” Sollux says before sighing, “I can’t wait to come home, I want to take a shower and relax and go on my computer.” 

Yes Sollux has showered while he was here but nothing is better than being home and taking a nice relaxing shower. Being home is relaxing after being in the hospital and constantly having someone watch your every move. Especially when they think you are suicidal. 

“You can do whatever you want but there’s going to be some rules in place for a little bit.” Simon says seriously, “And I did go through your room, I just want you safe.”

“I know Dad, but I’m fine. The doctor even said I was better but they want to put me in an outpatient thing.” Sollux sighs and rubs his forehead. Of course his dad went through his room, not that he’d find anything.

Simon takes a few seconds to respond, “Then that’s what you’ll do.”

“I know. I gotta go.” Sollux says not wanting to discuss it any longer.

“Alright, I love you Sollux.” Simon says with a soft sigh.

“Love you too. I’ll talk to you later.” He hangs up the phone and gets up so the next person can use it.

Sollux goes into the TV room and waits until he is called back to do his paperwork. He couldn’t help but let his mind wander and found that it went to calling Eridan when he got home. Should he really do that? What if he had already moved on from the hospital? What if Sollux couldn’t get through to Eridan for some odd reason? What if the two really are two different to be friends? All these question and more.

Sollux finally decides not to call Eridan after some time and starts to think about going back to school when he hears his name being called. He jumps up and heads to the room and starts the discharge paperwork.

After he was finished with going through the paperwork they give Sollux his things and let him out of the unit. He checks his phone after turning it on. ‘Thank God they turned it off,’ Sollux thinks to himself. He had a bunch of text messages and he decides to check them later. He heads down to the lobby and calls Simon. He tells the other that he was out and couldn’t get to the phone before the paperwork.

When they hang up Sollux waits for about twenty minutes before Simon and Mituna finally show up. Mituna rushes up to Sollux when he sees him and throws his arms around his little brother. He starts babbling about how much Mituna missed Sollux and how lonely he was. He talks about how Latula came over a lot and more. Sollux was only half listening to his brother, nodding every once and awhile as if he was. The three head out to the car and head home.

The first thing Sollux does when he does get home is take a long hot shower. He couldn’t think of anything better than this. After his shower and after he’s dressed he finally checks his phone. He responds to the messages and tells everyone basically the same thing that he was fine and home. He makes the messages pretty vague since he didn’t want anyone to worry about or ask why he was in the hospital for so long and couldn’t text anyone back.

He grabs his computer and heads down into the living room, collapsing on the couch the brunette opens his laptop and looks through the open files before messing around on the computer. His dad eventually sits down with the other and they talk about the new rules, Sollux gets pretty pissed about some rules like someone has to be with him at all times. 

Sollux’s day passes by quickly and he soon is watching a movie after supper. He couldn’t help but be tired and he was on the verge of passing out. That was when his dad sent him to bed. He does go to bed and once his head hits the pillow he was out.


	6. First Day of Outpatient

Simon drops Sollux off outside the building of the outpatient hospitalization which just looked like an office building but with outpatient posters on the windows. Sollux goes up to the door and presses the buzzer and explains that he is there to start treatment before the door is opened. He couldn’t help but find that weird, he just guessed that it was for the safety of the patients. He awkwardly goes through checking in with the lady at the front desk.

Once done with that he heads to meet with his counselor, she was a nice lady who helped him figure out how long he would be there. A week from nine in the morning until two in the afternoon, it was going to be a long week. He couldn’t help but sigh at the thoughts of waking up early in the morning and coming here to be bored out of his mind.

Sollux takes a deep breathe when he walks into the room that was starting to fill with people. He sits down in one of the seats as others come in. He looks at them before looking down at his phone and thinks about texting a friend to see if they wanted to hang out later. He was lost in thought when he heard a familiar voice.

“Sollux?” Sollux looks up confused only to see the familiar face of Eridan.

“Hey, you’re in here too?” Sollux asks as the boy sits next to him.

“Yeah, it’s my first day, how about you?” Eridan asks as he looks Sollux and bites his lip.

“My first day too. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day.” Sollux says sitting back in the chair and shoving his phone back into his pocket.

Eridan nods a little, “Yeah, I think some of it will be fun, though. Maybe. Hopefully.” He sighs a little.

Soon the meeting starts and everyone takes a turn and introduces themselves and says how they feel. He wasn’t sure how to feel about this so far. When it was Eridan’s turn he introduces himself and says he feels happy. Sollux could only imagine he was happy to see him. Now it was Sollux’s turn. He introduces himself and says he’s bored. That makes the leader of the group frown a bit but nod. After everyone takes a turn the first group is over.

The day goes on with three groups, lunch, then one more group and the day was over. The boys head outside and onto the sidewalk as they wait for their rides and talk. They talk about hanging out and what not until Cronus pulls up and shortly after Simon. The boys say goodbye to each other before getting into different cars. Simon asks how his day was and Sollux says he almost fell asleep in group.

On the way home, Sollux gets a text from Eridan. ‘Hey, it was nice seeing you today.’

Sollux sits back in the seat, ‘Yeah, good seeing you.’

After a few minutes, Eridan texts back again. ‘Maybe we can hang out tomorrow after groups?’

Sollux rubs the back of his neck before texting back, ‘Sure, sounds like a plan. Movies maybe?’

‘Sure, Cronus can drop us off and pick us up. You could probably sleep over tomorrow if you want too.’

Sollux takes a minute to respond to the sudden asking over, ‘Let’s just start with hanging out for a while before we go to that step.’

Sollux glances at Simon before speaking up, “I’m gonna hang out with a friend after group, you don’t have to pick me up.”

Simon glances at Sollux as he pulls up to the house, “Sure, which friend?”

“The kid from the hospital.” They both get out.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Simon says following Sollux inside the house.

Sollux glances into the living room and makes a face before heading into the kitchen. His brother was making out with his girlfriend. The next thing he hears is Simon scolding Mituna for having his hand up her shirt. Sollux chuckles and grabs a soda out of the fridge before heading upstairs to grab his computer and headphones. He sits on his bed and watches a movie with his headphones on. 

After the movie, he puts on another and texts Karkat and they talk about everything for a while. After a while he gets another text from Eridan, ‘What’s up?’

‘Watching a movie and relaxing.’ Sollux texts before adding, ‘What movie do you wanna see tomorrow?’

After a while, he gets another text, ‘How about that new superhero movie? Deadpool was it? Do you like that kind of stuff? You seem like you would.’

‘Are you calling me a nerd?’ Sollux laughs before texting back.

‘Uh, I wasn’t calling you a nerd, I mean you don’t have to be a nerd to like that shit, right?’ Sollux could tell Eridan was fumbling with trying to come up with an explanation. It only makes Sollux laugh more.

‘I was just joking around but yeah I’ve been dying to see that movie.’

‘Oh good, we’ll see that. I’ll buy the tickets.’

‘Uh thanks, I could buy mine if you want.’

‘No, it’s fine, I don’t mind buying them.’

‘Thanks.’ After a minute, he texts back again, ‘So what’s up?’

‘Relaxing by my pool, you?’

‘Chilling and watching a movie.’ 

‘That’s always fun.’ Eridan responds. 

After a while, there talking died down and Sollux has dinner with his family and Latula. He watches a movie with his family before heading to bed. He lays in bed for a while and messes around on his computer before falling asleep.


	7. Last Day of Outpatient

Both Eridan and Sollux’s last group session was interesting because everyone went around the table and said something like ‘good luck in life’ and ‘don’t give into your demons.’ It was good for the boys to hear nice things being said about them; it was nice to know that some strangers care about what happens to them. Everyone needs people to care about what happens to them. After the session, they left and headed to the bakery next door. They had decided to treat themselves after making it through that. The both got a doughnut and sat on the curb as they waited for Sollux’s dad to pick them up, he was running late.

“Maybe we should play video games when we get to your house.” Eridan suggests, he was a sore loser as Sollux learned.

“Why so you can cry about it?” Sollux laughs and gently bumps his shoulder against Eridan’s.

“No. I didn’t cry.” Eridan pouts, it was a pout that Sollux couldn’t help but smile at. 

Sollux just shakes his head, “How about a good movie?” 

“Yeah, that sounds good. Are we going to hang out in your room?” Eridan asks as he finishes his doughnut and licks his lips.

“Probably.” Sollux says as his dad pulls up to them.

The boys get inside and talk about their day as they head home. The boys had been spending just about every day together becoming best friends. Soon they pull into the driveway, and the boys head inside and up to Sollux’s room. Once in there and the door shut Sollux puts on a movie and they lay on the bed. 

Halfway through the movie, Eridan speaks up, “Sollux?”

He looks over at Eridan, “Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?” Eridan asks softly.

“Sure.” 

“How come you did what you did?” Eridan asks sitting up a bit and looking down at the boy.

“Did what?” Sollux asks, eyebrow raised.

“Cut yourself? Your family seems really supportive and whatever...” Eridan gently places a hand over the two scars on Sollux’s arm.

His immediate reaction is to pull away, but he doesn’t, the warm hand was comforting. Sollux looks down on it before speaking softly, “Yeah, my dad’s pretty supportive... But I also have a lot of responsibilities with helping with my brother; I have to watch him sometimes, and he sometimes screams and hits me. Hard. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten bruises from him.” He’s quiet for a moment; he’d never shared that with anyone really besides with Karkat. “I was overwhelmed with school, and also I got bullied a lot in school, I was the nerd. It was all just too much for me to handle at the time.”

Eridan nods a little before saying softly, “I’m sorry.”

Sollux nods a bit, “Why did you do it?”

Eridan hesitates, “My mum cheated and left my dad, my dad’s never around, my brother is just... He’s hard to understand sometimes. I was always ignored, and I was bullied too, I was called a loser and whatever else. I would go home and no one would talk to me or Cronus would be weird about something or whatever. I mostly left him alone. I’m always alone. But I don’t feel alone when I’m with you, or when you talk to me really.” 

Sollux nods a little before sitting up and hugging the other tightly. After a second Eridan hugs back, burying his face into Sollux’s shoulder. Sollux gently rubs his back before slowly pulling back to look at the other.

“Are you okay?” Sollux asks gently.

Eridan nods a little. He studies Sollux’s face for a few seconds, he licks his lips before looking away. Sollux watches Eridan before letting go. He looks at the movie before back at Eridan.

“Are you thirsty or something?” Sollux ask.

“No, I’m good.” Eridan says softly. He clears his throat and turns his attention to the movie. 

Sollux nods and they watch the rest of the movie. Sollux was thinking about what Eridan had said; they weren’t that much different. Sollux couldn’t admit it, but he didn’t feel lonely when Eridan was around or talking to him, it was comforting. He couldn’t help but study Eridan’s face when his own was being studied. He almost kissed him, he wanted to, but he didn’t. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it, though. 

Sollux looks at Eridan again who looks at him. He smiles at Sollux and Sollux gets up and puts on another movie. Sollux sits back on the bed with his back against the headboard and soon he awkwardly puts an arm around Eridan. After a few seconds, Eridan leans into Sollux and sets his head against the other’s shoulder. They both relax as they watch the movie.

“You should spend the night.” Sollux says looking down at Eridan.

“Really?” Eridan looks up at Eridan surprised, it was the first time Sollux had suggested a sleepover.

Sollux nods, “I think it would be alright to. I mean, we know each other pretty well.”

Eridan nods, “I don’t have a change of clothes.” 

“That’s fine, you can borrow one of my shirts.” Sollux shrugs and rubs Eridan’s shoulder gently.

Eridan smiles and rests his head against the other again. Sollux’s heart was beating hard, he couldn’t help but be a little nervous about spending the night with someone he potentially liked. He looks down at Eridan again and watches the soft features on his face as he watches the movie. He couldn’t help but smile and looks at the movie again. 

The two watch the movie cuddled up together. They’re called down for dinner just as they start another movie. They pause it and go eat before heading back up to Sollux’s room. When they get there they put on the movie again and they get cuddled up again. Sollux was enjoying the cuddle time, it was relaxing.

As the movie was coming to the end Sollux looks at Eridan who was practically asleep. “Let’s get ready for bed.” 

Eridan just nods and Sollux slowly disentangles himself from Eridan and heads into the bathroom and brushes his teeth. He heads back into the bedroom to find Eridan rubbing his eye sleepily. Sollux goes over and hugs the boy before looking down at him.

“How do you usually sleep?” Eridan asks looking up at him. 

“I sleep in my boxers usually.” Sollux shrugs, “I can sleep in sweats though and I have an extra pair if you wanna too.” 

Eridan nods, “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Sollux slowly looks around the room before heading to his dresser and grabs two pairs of sweatpants. He sets one down next to Eridan before turning to go to the bathroom but stops when Eridan grabs his arm. He looks back at the boy before Eridan gets up and pulls Sollux closer. He leans in slightly, their lips almost touching, both boys nervous. When there’s a knock on the door both boys quickly step back and Sollux goes over to the door and opens it to find Mituna standing there.

“Sollux I’m bored and Tulip won’t answer me. You should entertain me.” Mituna whines.

Sollux just sighs, “Go play a video game, I’m going to bed.” 

“No. Entertain me.” Mituna snaps, “Or I’m gonna tell Dad.” 

“Go tell Dad.” Sollux sighs and pushes past Mituna, closing the door behind himself and heads the bathroom.

He hears Mituna stop away and slam the bedroom door. He sighs and changes into sweatpants and heads back into his room. Eridan looks over at Sollux; he had changed into the sweatpants Sollux had given him. Sollux couldn’t help but think that Eridan looked pretty good in his clothing. He bites his lip and heads to bed crawling into bed with Eridan. Eridan cuddles Sollux close as he shuts the light off. They end up talking each other to sleep, happy and comfortable.


	8. The Next Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this in a very long time! I was extremely busy to the point where I stopped thinking about it but I will try and remember it and start updating this on a regular basis. Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Sollux was glad that it was a Sunday and he didn’t have to even attempt going back to school, not until tomorrow at least. He really didn’t want to face everyone else and try to explain what the heck was going on and why he’d been out of school for two weeks and why he hadn’t really talked to anyone. He guessed it was bound to happen but it would be good for him to just relax for today before trying to get back into the groove of school. He had to say though, he missed his friends, especially Karkat.

He was glad that he could sleep in but yet he was only half asleep this morning. He stretches out slightly in the bed before noticing the arm that was around his waist. He then remembers that he had invited Eridan to spend the night and a soft smile appears on his lips. He relaxes into the other and yawns slightly. He opens his eyes slightly and turns his head enough to see that Eridan was still asleep.

About half an hour later Eridan wakes up and quickly and carefully pulls his arm off of Sollux. Sollux rolls over to look over at Eridan which makes him blush. “Uh, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Sleep okay?” Sollux shoves his arm under the pillow to rest his head against.

“Yeah, how long have you been awake?” Eridan asks as he yawns.

“Not long.” Sollux says as Eridan watches him closely. “What?”

“Nothing.” Eridan says quickly before sitting up. He grabs his phone and sees he has a couple of text messages which he reads before responding to them. 

Sollux sits up and lets his legs hang over the side of his bed for a few seconds before he gets up. He goes over and checks his phone and was surprised to see a text message from Karkat. ‘Hey douchenozzle, I’m coming over today.’

Sollux nods a bit before responding, ‘Okay, sounds good to me.’

He turns to look at Eridan who was looking at him. “Come on, let’s go get breakfast.”

Eridan nods a bit and heads with Sollux down to the kitchen. Simon was talking to Mituna and making pancakes. Simon smiles at the boys as they both grab a plate and they both take some pancakes. Simon looks at the two as he finishes up cooking the last pancake.

“How’d you two sleep?” Simon asks them.

“Fine.” Sollux says with a shrug.

“I slept okay.” Eridan says with a smile.

“I was just telling Mituna that the Vantas’s are coming over after church.” Simon says looking at Sollux.

“I wanna gross Kankri out!” Mituna says excitedly taking a bite out of his pancake that was full on the fork.

“Mituna. You can’t do that.” Simon says with a sigh.

“Why not?” Mituna whines.

“Because I said not to.”

Mituna starts to pout and throws his fork and pancake down on the plate before crossing his arms over his chest. Sollux sighs and rubs his forehead with his eyes closed for a second before looking at Eridan with an apologetic look on his face. He didn’t know why he hadn’t of brought Eridan into the living room instead of eating at the table with his brother. Mituna whines slightly.

“So what time are they going to be getting here?” Sollux asks Simon.

“Around noon or something, just whenever Carmine is done.” Simon shrugs.

“So that could be an all day thing.” Sollux laughs before looking at Eridan to explain. “The Vantas family loves the sound of their own voices so they can talk all day and not run out of things to say. It’s pretty entertaining sometimes but other times it’s annoying as fuck.”

Eridan nods a little before finishing up his pancakes and Sollux, deciding he was done with his picks up both their plates and brings them to the sink. He comes back to Eridan and stands by the table.

“We’re going to go back up to my room.” Sollux tells his dad before heading upstairs.

Eridan follows behind and Sollux shuts the door when they are both inside. They both go sit on the bed and talk for a while. Sollux eventually decides to get dressed and pulls some jeans and a tee shirt out of his closet before telling Eridan he can take anything he wants. Sollux leaves Eridan who was going through his shirts to go into the bathroom and change. When he comes back into the room Eridan is wearing one of his black tee shirts and the jeans he wore yesterday. 

“Your dad won’t mind if my brother doesn’t pick me up until later, does he? He can’t make it until like noon or something.” Eridan rubs the back of his neck.

“Nah, he won’t care. My dad usually doesn’t care if my brother and I have friends over, just as long as we don’t destroy the house. So my friends are always welcome yet my brother is iffy if he ever is allowed to have friends over, he destroys the house on his own.” Sollux shrugs and picks out a movie to play in the background before sitting on the bed with Eridan, backs to the headboard.

Eridan nods a bit. “Thanks, Sol. I really enjoyed spending the night with you.” He hesitates before taking Sollux’s hand.

Sollux looks over at Eridan before smiling slightly and squeezes his hand. Sollux liked how cool Eridan’s hand was. Soon enough the door just opens and standing there is Karkat. Karkat glares at Sollux before looking at the new face.

“Who the fuck is that?” Karkat comes in and sits on the bed, glancing at the movie that was playing before focusing on Sollux.

“KK, this is Eridan, Eridan, this is Karkat.” Sollux rolls his eyes, letting go of Eridan’s hand trying to be discrete.

“Hi.” Eridan offers Karkat a shy smile.

“What’s he? Your new boyfriend?” Karkat narrows his eyes slightly.

“Nah.” Sollux shrugs which makes Karkat raises his eyebrow.

“Yeah, whatever.” Karkat observes Eridan, eyes going to the scars on one of his arms which makes Eridan cross his arms to hide them.

“How was church?” Sollux smirked knowing how much Karkat hated going.

“Haha, fuck you. I tried to sleep through it but Kankri was constantly nudging me and I got a lecture on the way here but I didn’t listen to it.” Karkat shrugs.

Karkat looks at Eridan, “So did you spend the night or something?”

Eridan nods a little and says quickly, “Yeah, but nothing happened or anything.”

“Uh huh.” Karkat says not believing it before looking at Sollux. “I’m glad that your back. Oh, I have some shit for you in my bag in the car, some shit the teachers gave me to give to you to help catch you up. Oh and Aradia says to say hi and she misses you lots. Gamzee says he hopes you get sane soon.”

“I’m sure Gamzee said more than that but I’ll take your word for it. Sometimes I don’t understand what he’s talking about.” Sollux shakes his head, “I don’t know why you are dating him, he doesn’t seem your type.”

“Why because I go for the nerdy guys? Or the fucking ‘innocent’ guys?” Karkat rolls his eyes, “News flash double douche, I like Gamzee, he’s sweet.”

“Hey, I was innocent before you corrupted me.” Sollux smirks.

“Fuck you very much, fuckass. I’m pretty sure it was fucking you who corrupted me.” Karkat rolls his eyes with a slight smile.

“Wait, you guys used to date or something?” Eridan asked confused.

“Yeah, he’s my ex-boyfriend but best friend. We decided to try dating but it didn’t really work out but he’s still my best friend. KK’s been there for a lot of things. He can be an ass but he’s a really great guy.” Sollux says looking at Karkat before looking at Eridan.

“Oh.” Eridan nods a little feeling awkward.

Karkat rolls his eyes, “Don’t worry, uh, fuck what was your name again? I don’t like Sollux like that anymore. I have a new boyfriend and Sollux is still? single. Or at least I think he is.” 

“Yeah, still single. Hasn’t changed yet. But seriously, do you think Gamzee is a smart choice?” Sollux frowns a bit.

“Sollux, fucking drop it.” Karkat glares at Sollux making him raise his hands in surrender.

They’re all quiet for a while and watch the movie before Simon calls up the stairs to tell Eridan his brother is here to pick him up. Eridan says bye to the two boys before leaving the room and soon the house with his brother. The second Eridan was gone Karkat started to demand the whole story between Sollux and Eridan. Karkat wanted to know everything and he wanted to know what Sollux was planning to do about his feelings toward the ‘hipster douche.’ Sollux didn’t have an answer, not yet at least.

Karkat and Sollux talked for a while about everything and anything that they could think about until it was dinner time in which they went downstairs to get something to eat and ate with everyone else. There was all kinds of talk with each Captor listening to their own Vantas. Sollux couldn’t help but smile about how normal that everything felt now that he was home and being alone and away from everyone in the hospital felt so distant. Sollux couldn’t wait to get into a normal routine again.

Karkat and Sollux went for a walk after dinner and when they came back Karkat gave Sollux the papers he needed before Karkat left with his family. He was glad Karkat came over and gave him some advice over what to do about Eridan, he knew Karkat was unsure about the relationship being even a healthy relationship since where they met but Sollux kept trying to reassure Karkat that he would be fine and he’s found no reason why that it would be unhealthy and he would split if it started to happen that way.

Sollux went to his room and looked over all the papers and read them all over and eventually fell asleep reading the papers and Simon had to come in and turn out the light and cover the sleeping Sollux with a blanket.


	9. First Day Back to School

Sollux woke up to his dad knocking on his door telling him that it was time to get up for school. He yawns and looks down at the blankets over himself for a few seconds before letting out a sigh, he really didn’t want to go back to school. He was enjoying his time away from school. He sighs again before getting up and heading to the bathroom and showering before getting ready for school. He goes downstairs and looks at his brother eating cereal. He mutters a greeting to his brother before making himself some toast.

After he eats he walks off to school with a hood over his head, he wasn’t looking forward to any of this. He gets to school twenty minutes later and heads straight to the office to talk to the school about his classes and getting back into the swing of things. He gets done talking to everyone he needs to by the end of first period. He heads to his locker and opens it after a second of remembering the code to unlock it. After a few seconds he grabs what he needs for his first class, he can already hear the murmuring and whispering about him being gone for so long.

After a few seconds he feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist making him stiffen. He looks over his shoulder at the friendly smiling face which makes him smile and relax a bit. “Hey AA.” He says turning slightly when she lets go.

“Hey Sollux, I missed you.” Aradia smile and steps out of the way and closer to the lockers. “Where did you go? Are you okay? Karkat gave this vague explanation that you were sick or something.” 

“Uh, yeah...” Sollux scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, I got this really bad, uh, flu or something. No big deal.” He shrugs and turns back to his locker.

“Fine, don’t tell me. I don’t need to know, but I was still worried and I’m glad your back. I’ll see you in history, okay? Or lunch, whatever happens first.” She smiles and heads off.

Aradia was Sollux’s best female friend, he met her when they were really little, maybe four or five and have been best friends since they met. Everyone used to think that they were dating because of how close they were until Sollux started dating Karkat. Sollux had never really lied to Aradia except a few times and she always called him out on that. Sollux watches her go for a few seconds before hearing another familiar voice.

“Hey fuckass. Hating this place yet?” Sollux looks over at Karkat before shoving his books in his bag. 

Sollux shuts his locker and locks it, “Now KK, is that even a question? I mean, come on, this place sucks. I remember that without having to be back.” He smirks and the two walk off towards their English class.

Karkat snorts, “I can’t wait until I’m out of this fucking place.”

Sollux nods in agreement, “Well this is our last year so you won’t have to wait very long. What is it, like how many months? Five?”

“Yeah, about that or something.” Karkat nods.

They turn into the next room and Sollux goes to the teacher rather than going to sit down next to Karkat. He talks with the teacher for a few moments before going to sit down. He really hated that teacher but was glad that they said he was excused from all the other homeworks he missed unless he would like to make them up, which he should.

Sollux’s day was pretty boring and at lunch, his friends were pestering him for answers about where he was and what happened and why he didn’t talk to anyone but Karkat for two weeks. Sollux sighed before just telling them it was really none of their business and not to worry too much about it.

At the end of the day, Sollux got a text from Eridan on walking home, ‘Hey Sol, uh can we talk?’

‘Sure ED, what’s up?’ Sollux responds.

‘Can you come over or can I come over?’ Sollux reads the response over a few times.

Sollux sighs and rubs the back of his neck, ‘Sorry ED, I gotta get some homework and try to catch up with everything that I missed.’  
‘Why, what do you want to talk about?’

‘Uh, it can wait I guess... No big deal really...’ Eridan texted back.

Sollux huffs, ‘Friday? After school do you want to meet up or something?’

‘Yeah, sure, that sounds good with me. See you then?’ Eridan responds.

‘Yeah, see you then.’ Sollux sighs.

Sollux gets home wondering what the heck Eridan could have wanted to talk about, especially since it had to be in person. Did he do something wrong or could they not be friends or something, what the hell was going on. His mind was racing about what it could be as he went inside. He turns on the television before going and grabbing a snack and sitting down on the couch. He sits down still pondering it and looks over when he hears the door open and close.

Mituna comes bounding in with a grin on his face and a box of pizza in his hands followed by Kankri Vantas. “Oh, Sollux, I didn’t realize you would be home. I thought you would be with one of your friends, I hope you do not mind us being here. We can go upstairs if you would like some quiet.”

“It’s fine, I just got home.” Sollux shrugs and watches Mituna come into the room with two slices of pizza in his hands.

“Mituna, go get a plate please.” Kankri says with a sigh and this earns a whine and a groan but Mituna goes and gets a plate. “Please help yourself to some pizza if you are hungry Sollux. There is more than enough.”

Sollux nods and considers this for a few seconds before getting up and going and getting a couple pieces of pizza. Kankri follows him into the kitchen before looking at Sollux. Sollux looks at Kankri for a few seconds.

“What?” Sollux tilts his head slightly.

“Nothing. Um, I just, I just wanted you to know that if you needed to talk to someone, you know, about what happened I would gladly listen.” Kankri smiles softly.

Sollux nods slightly and takes a bite of pizza, “Thanks, I got that a lot today.”

“It is probably just because your friends are worried about you.” Kankri says softly.

“Yeah, well, no one needs to worry about me.” Sollux shrugs and watches Kankri get a slice of pizza

Kankri shrugs, “It can’t be a bad thing, having someone worry about you. At least you are not feeling ignored.”

“Do you feel ignored? I mean, no offense but you do talk a lot but not as much as you used to.” Sollux studies Kankri, noting the slight pause.

“Yes, I suppose at times I do feel ignored. How’re you feeling?” Kankri sighs softly.

“I feel fine. I’m not going to try and kill myself again if that’s what you are asking.” Sollux sets his plate on the counter.

“I wasn’t- I mean, I didn’t mean to trigger you.” Kankri says flustered.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter.” Sollux waves his hand dismissively before picking up the plate again. “I just kinda wish that things would go back to what they used to be when no one worried about me.”

“Well after what you did I don’t think that it ever really will.” Kankri says softly.

Sollux nods slightly and says softly, “I think your right.” He turns and walks back into the living room and Kankri soon follows him.

Sollux watches the television for a few moments before starting to eat the pizza. When he finishes eating he goes and puts his plate into the sink before grabbing his bag and heading upstairs to focus on his homework. He sits on his bed before pulling up his sweatshirt sleeves slightly to look at the scars he’s left on himself. He sighs softly and think about all the odd looks from his friends that he’d gotten and the worry that filled their faces.

He sighs pulling his sleeves back down. He didn’t want to think about anything anymore but he had to. He had to focus on school, he needed to do that. After pulling things out of his bag and looks it over and then he pulls out his phone. He pulls up his conversation with Eridan and looks it over.

‘Want to Skype or something and talk about whatever it is you want to talk about?’ Sollux types only to erase it without sending it and set his phone down again.

He sighs and lays back, itching his arm absentmindedly. After a few seconds he sits up again and looks at the papers again. He reads them over before starting his assignments. He works on his homework until his father calls him down for dinner. He goes and eats with him and Mituna. He didn’t talk much about his day, saying only that today was boring because of school.

When he was allowed to go back to his room he goes and continues on his homework. He sighs softly and looks at his phone, no new messages. He lays back on his bed, exhausted with the school work and taking a break. He gets up and goes over to his computer and loads up a computer game. He plays for what he means to be about half an hour but turns out to be two hours. He sighs and pushes away and looks at the paperwork and checks the time. It was 11:27, he should go to bed and not stay up. After all he had to do this all over again.


	10. The End of the Week

Sollux was exhausted by the end of the week, there was so much to catch up on and he didn’t really enjoy being back at school but then again he never enjoyed school to start with. He was happy that the school day ended and now all he had to do was wait for Cronus to pick him up and bring him to Eridan’s house. He was standing outside of the school, hands shoved in his pockets as he waited, his friends all had left by now. After a minute more he pulls out his phone to text Eridan but Cronus’ car pulls up. Sollux huffs and goes and gets into the car pushing his bag between his feet before buckling up.

“Sorry, had to stop and get gas.” Cronus shrugs and pulls away from the school.

“It’s fine.” Sollux sits back in the seat.

“How was school?” Cronus glances at Sollux with a smirk.

“Fucking sucked ass.” Sollux glances at Cronus out of the corner of his eye.

“You say ‘ass’ so funny.” Cronus chuckles.

“Fuck you.” Sollux rolls his eyes, stupid god damn lisp.

“Anytime, anywhere.” Cronus smirked shamelessly.

“God you're desperate.” Sollux smirked back.

“Hey now, don’t be mean. After all, I could drop you off in the middle of nowhere instead of bringing you back to my house.” Cronus gently shoves Sollux’s shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Sollux rolls his eyes. “Just drive.”

“Ain’t you bosy. Don’t you have your own car?” Cronus asks.

“Nah, my dad took away the keys a month ago or something?” Sollux shrugs and looks out the window.

“Ah, well Eridan’s too much of a priss to find a car he likes. Nothing is good enough, new enough, blah blah blah.” Cronus rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I can kinda see that.” Sollux nods a bit imaging Eridan at a car dealership trying to find a car he likes. It made him laugh.

Cronus glances over at Sollux when they pull up to the house, “I’m glad my brother finally found a friend and a good one at that.” 

Sollux looks over at him almost surprised, “Uh, thanks I guess. I’m not really sure what to say to that.”

Cronus shrugs and smiles kindly, “Get outta my car, Chief. Door should be unlocked and Eri should be home by now.”

Sollux gets out as he’s told, grabbing his bag. Cronus backs out of the driveway and heads somewhere else as Sollux heads inside the house. True to Cronus’s word the door was unlocked and Eridan was home. He was in the kitchen talking to someone, probably the chef. He stands there for a second before heading into the kitchen but before he could even get passed the living room Eridan had spotted him already and tells his chef to prepare snacks and have them brought up to his room. He comes out of the kitchen and smiles at Sollux.

“Hey Sol, glad you’re finally here.” Eridan grabs Sollux by the arm and starts tugging him toward the way he had just came.

“Yeah, your brother was late picking me up.” Sollux shurgs, allowing himself to be dragged along.

Eridan takes Sollux up to his bedroom and sits on his bed. “So how was school?”

“Sucked. You?” Sollux sits on the bed too and looks at Eridan.

Eridan shrugs, “Nothing good, nothing bad. It was boring.”

“So what did you want to talk about so badly?” Sollux leans back against the headboard, moving a pillow or two.

“Huh? Oh..” Eridan rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. Sollux cocks an eyebrow and waits for Eridan to continue but he’s silent for a few more moments before he actually speaks up again. “Uh, what was that the other night...”

“The other night?” Sollux asks confused, they hadn’t seen each other for a week or anything.

“Yeah... You know... When we almost...” He says the last word almost silently.

“Almost what? Are you talking about when you spent the night and we almost kissed? Why do you wanna talk about that so badly?” Sollux cocks an eyebrow.

Eridan blushes and looks away, glad when there’s a knock on the door. He opens it and takes the food from his chef who immediately goes back to whatever it is he’ll be doing for now. Eridan sets the plate on the bed between the two boys and starts eating. Sollux picks up some food and eats it too before looking at Eridan expectantly. Sollux didn’t get why Eridan was bringing up but then again he thought about it too but he expected not as much as Eridan had. Sollux sighed and watched Eridan closely, the other boy was refusing to make any eye contact.

“So, we could watch a movie or something... Play a videogame.” Eridan suggested. 

Sollux nods a bit, “Yeah, let’s watch a movie.” 

“Alright.” Eridan gets up and grabs the remote for the T.V. and starts flipping through the channels. 

Sollux watches Eridan as he eats. He knew that Eridan felt uncomfortable by just the body language he was giving off. He could also tell Eridan wasn’t handling even talking about that stuff very well. Once Eridan settles on a show he relaxes a little before starting to snack. Sollux smirked slightly and grabs Eridan’s hand when he goes to reach for another. Eridan looks at Sollux shocked. Before Eridan can say anything Sollux leans in and kisses him softly, after a few seconds Eridan kisses back.

Sollux pulls back and looks at Eridan and Eridan watches him shocked, eyes a little big. Sollux smirked and looked back at the television like nothing even happened. He could tell Eridan was still staring at him and he looks back, raising an eyebrow.

“Hm?” Sollux lets out a soft hum as he looks at Eridan.

“Uh... What... What was that?” Eridan says sounding really unsure.

“What? This?” Sollux pulls Eridan close and kisses him again.

This time he can feel Eridan melt into the kiss, gripping Sollux’s arm tightly. Sollux moves his hand up to rest against Eridan’s cheek. After a while Sollux pulls back and Eridan looks at him curiously. Sollux smiles at the other boy with a soft smile before picking up the plate.

“You done with these?” Sollux asks earning a nod from Eridan and he picks up the plate and puts it on the desk before sitting back down on the bed, this time closer to Eridan. He puts a hand on Eridan’s lower back, “You okay?”

Eridan nods slightly before clearing his throat, “What... How come... How come you kissed me?”

Sollux gives a half smile, “I’m pretty sure you know why. I mean, come on ED, it almost happened the other night, right?”

Eridan nods slightly, “Uh, Sol?”

“Hm?” Sollux runs his hand up Eridan’s back slowly until it’s between his shoulderblades. 

“I... I really like you.” Eridan whispers.

“I really like you too.” Sollux leans in and gently kisses him again.

After the two settle down on bed, they cuddle up and watch some television until Simon comes to pick up Sollux. The two say goodbye and share a quick kiss before Sollux heads out and gets in the car. On the way home Sollux stares out the window and listens to his dad talk about work and how he might need to go away for a few days on a trip, which is kind of surprising since Simon never got asked to go on a trip and it made Sollux think something was up.

When the two get home Sollux goes up to his room, passing Mituna’s room, the door open. He happened to glance in to see Mituna curled up with his head on his best friend, Kurloz’s lap. Sollux stops and leans against the doorway, Kurloz looking up at the youngest Captor, tilting his head slightly.

“He have a rough day or something?” Sollux asks softly, Kurloz nods in return. Sollux nods slightly, “Does my dad know?” Kurloz shakes his head ‘no,’ Sollux in returns nods. “Alright.”

Sollux knew that if anyone could handle Mituna having fits that is not related to him, was Kurloz. Kurloz was his best friend and can calm Mituna down quickly and Sollux was happy about that but he also knew better than to press the silent guy for answers. The Makara’s are so weird and he didn’t know what to make of them. He also didn’t trust any Makara one hundred percent.

Sollux sighs and collapses on his bed, his eyes closing. After a few seconds he picks up his phone and starts the music, dropping his phone on his chest, eyes closing again. He smiles remembering all the kisses he shared with Eridan, it was nice that he connected with someone that well again. He yawns and stretches out slightly. A few minutes later he’s called down for dinner, a few seconds later his phone goes off, a message from Eridan.

‘Hey,’ is all it said.

‘Sup? I’m going to eat dinner so if I don’t respond that’s why.’ Sollux sends back, waiting a few seconds before he goes down for supper. 

After a few seconds he gets another text, ‘Are we dating now?’

‘Sure.’ Sollux responds after he sits down.

Simon serves dinner to the four of them before they all dig in. Sollux listens to Mituna and Simon talking, adding small tidbits of conversations every once and awhile. He didn’t really feel like talking to them but it was better than being completely silent.

‘What do you mean sure? Do you want to?’ Eridan texts back.

‘Yeah I do, that’s why I said sure. What did you want me to say?’ Sollux responds by typing under the table.

“Sollux, phone away.” Simon says, watching him out of the corner of his eye.

Sollux sighs, muttering a ‘sorry’ and putting his phone in his pocket. He wasn’t really though, he didn’t really care. It was better conversation than listening to some of the incoherent babbles of his brother. After dinner Sollux helps clean up, beings that it was his turn to do the dishes. Once the kitchen was all cleaned up he goes upstairs and relaxes on his bed, going back to texting Eridan, who had sent him three texts.

‘I don’t really know actually.’  
‘Sorry this is all kinda knew to me.’  
‘Sol?’

‘Sorry, I had to help clean after dinner.’ Sollux responds with a sigh. ‘Yeah, I could kind of tell.’

‘Was I that obvious? I mean, honestly, I’ve never been in a relationship with anyone and I’ve never been kissed.’ 

Sollux chuckles softly, ‘Did you like it?’

‘A lot. Do you think we can do it again?’

‘Course, I’m sure it will become a regular thing.’ Sollux smirks.

‘Uh, good. Sol?’

‘Yeah?’

‘I want to take you on a date. Can we go to the movies or out to dinner or something?’ 

Sollux was actually surprised by this, ‘Yeah, sure. But you know we don’t have cars or anything. But then again I can see if I can get my car back.’

‘You have a car?’ 

‘Yeah, I heard you can’t find one that you like yet.’ Sollux smirked remembering his conversation with Cronus.

‘I’m picky.’

‘Uh huh.’ Sollux smirks.

Sollux picks up his laptop and logs onto his video game and starts to play. He gets so absorbed into the game, he didn’t really respond anymore to Eridan other than to tell him he was playing a video game. After hours of playing the game he gets bored and puts on a movie instead. He eventually falls asleep during the movie.


End file.
